As a Facility Manager, you would like to have effective, consistent, reliable janitorial services. Not only would it make your building look better, it would make your life easier. While you know that there has to be a commercial cleaning company ready, willing and able to offer the level of service you seek, finding them can seem like an impossibility. First, the janitorial marketplace is crowded with all kinds of companies that want your business. But wanting your business and being able to deliver are two very different things. You cannot sacrifice the level of work or upend your carefully planned budget. Second, trying to validate the claims of multiple contenders is both time consuming and imprecise. You cannot afford to make vetting prospective commercial cleaning companies your new full time. Last, while you have some understanding about what YOU need from your janitorial company, you don’t know exactly what THEY need in order to deliver. You go through the paces talking to prospective cleaning companies--site visits, janitorial bids, trying to understand their systems and if they will be able to do the work as promised at or under your budget. Wouldn’t it be nice if finding the right janitorial services company to partner with had a shortcut that makes the path to effective service shorter and more straightforward? 

There Is A Simple Shortcut to Finding the Most Effective Janitorial Services Companies

Thankfully the shortcut to finding the right janitorial cleaning service need not involve a crystal ball, genie’s lamp or speaking with a troll that resides under a bridge. The shortcut to the great janitorial companies is far simpler. The time saving technique for finding a better Detroit janitorial company is the ISSA’s CIMS-GB. It is quite the acronym so let’s spell it out: 

• The ISSA is the International Sanitary Supply Association, an international industry association for building services contractors.
• CIMS, or the Certified Industry Management Standard, is the ISSA’s demanding industry certification offered to janitorial services companies and commercial cleaning companies that want to distinguish themselves by adopting industry best practices throughout their business.
• GB is the Green Building element of this certification and offers janitorial companies a certification that helps them help their customers earn points under the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (LEED EB: O&M) Green Building Rating System.

So the ISSA’s CIMS-GB gives commercial cleaning companies a framework with which to design and adjust their operations to deliver the most efficient, consistent and effective services.

How CIMS Lights A Path to Great Service

We all know of certifications or industry awards that are indiscriminately given away like floral arrangements at the end of a wedding. CIMS is not that. CIMS is a challenging program that while voluntary, is not meaningless. Companies that seek CIMS certification agree to a comprehensive, independent assessment of their compliance with the required CIMS elements. In order to achieve and retain certification, a cleaning company must meet all of the mandatory elements and at least sixty percent of the suggested benchmarks in order to become certified. As a tool, CIMS certification is valuable in part because it IS so difficult. First, companies that seek CIMS certification are actively engaged in working to make their businesses better and more responsive to their customers. Second, those building services that achieve certification have the systems and practices in place that are most predictive of effective service. While one element cannot guarantee effective service on its own, CIMS makes it more likely you will get what you need from your cleaning service by weeding out those companies operating at a lower level. And again, CIMS isn’t a self performed ‘test,’ it is a challenging, multifaceted assessment carried out by an ISSA-accredited third party assessor. This makes CIMS is a credible shortcut for creating your short list of prospective janitorial companies. We suggest you start with CIMS certified companies and then look at services, price and fit to determine which company is best suited to create a partnership with. CIMS takes a huge chunk of the guesswork in finding janitorial services out and offers a useful, free shortcut.

ISSA CIMS –GB Leads to Effective, Responsive Commercial Cleaning Services

ISSA’s CIMS and CIMS-GB is a challenging process for building services contractors but how exactly does that translate into benefits for you and your facility? The documentation, processes, systems and checks are all centered around five core areas that can make or break your commercial cleaning services.

• Quality Systems: A framework for effective operations & continuous improvement
• Service Delivery: Processes & systems in position to deliver consistent, quality service
• Human Resources: Best practices followed for managing people-a service businesses single greatest asset
• Health, Safety, & Environmental Stewardship: Assuring regulatory compliance, workplace safety, and health and environmental management
• Management Commitment: Establishing a Mission, Vision, and Values that assure an organization and their customers will continue to thrive.

These five benchmarks are directly correlated to successful outcomes and the kind of responsive, effective service you and your facility deserve. The ISSA, in creating and executing the CIMS, has done essentially the most time consuming part of the search for you. And the best part of it is it is a free tool. While there is cost involved with becoming certified, there is no cost for you to use this invaluable tool to narrow your search.

Letting the Certified Industry Management Standard Cut a Clear Path For Your Facility

Finding the right janitorial company is challenging and there is no way to take every difficult decision and make it clear. And yet, with CIMS certification, you can clear a path by removing a great deal of the unknowns from your decision making process. You can view a prospective company through the lens of an industry association well acquainted with what makes the best cleaning companies different. Then you can do your homework and make the best decision for your individual facility. To find a janitorial company in your area ISSA CIMS-GB certified, visit the ISSA here.